Now that his Olympic bid failed maybe Obama will make a bid for Chicago to host Celebration V.

I'm sure King Richard has his cronies spending the leftover money from the wasted Olympic bid to bribe Uncle George to bring CV to Chicago.

The question of location of the ideal Chicago convention centers came up. I'll give a brief overview of the two locations just to give everyone an idea of what to expect should CV come to the Windy City...

#1.) McCormick Place - this is a HUGE convention center just south of downtown Chicago, not too far from Soldier Field and the museum campus (Adler Planitarium, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum). McCormick Place has been host to the Chicago Auto Show forever and was once the home of the Summer Consumer Electronics Show when it was open to the public. While gentrification has sprung it's ugly head around this area there aren't that many things for visitors directly by McCormick Place - the city expects out of towners to get hotels in downtown Chicago which is readily accessible by bus, taxi, or rent-a-car via Lake Shore Drive. Now of course there are a ton of things to see and do in downtown after the show all easily accessible by foot, bus, or train, but being the downtown of the 3rd largest city in the country everything will be pricey - food, hotel, theater, etc. If you're flying into Chicago, you'll have to get transportation to downtown separately though not difficultly. If the idea of getting a hotel outside of downtown intrigues you, well the best place would be right by O'Hare airport and if that's the case then you'd prefer we go to location #2...

#2.) The Rosemont Convention Center - is a significantly smaller venue than the McCormick Place but what it has going for it is a centralized location. Being that it's about 2 miles from O'Hare makes it easy for out of towners to readily access the con center and all of the hotels surrounding it. The con center is in a business district, so you have many hotels, office buildings, and restaurants nearby. It's also just right off I-90 so those driving in can get to it easily, and it's 2 blocks away from a train line that takes you right into the city to go do all those touristy things on a lighter budger. The Rosemont Convention Center hosts the yearly Wizard World show and other collector events, often hosting multiple events at once. Though smaller than McCormick Place it should do the trick if the entire building was dedicated to CV.

I've been to the Wizard World Chicago show at the Rosemont Convention Center a few times. And I think as far as facilities go, it's definitely smaller than Indy was. And overcrowding became a serious issue in Indy. I don't think the Rosemont Center has enough rooms at it's disposal for all of the panels that are a part of Celebration. The main hall is huge, definitely. But it's the other facilities in the hall that may not measure up there. All of that makes me think that if Chicago gets celebration, it would have to be at McCormick Place.

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Well with plans for Louisville in March and Vancouver in July, it's doubtful I'll be going. Minneapolis/Chicago are probably still doable to some extent but anywhere farther becomes much more pricey flight-wise. Colman could sway that opinion though (might be cheaper for both of us to wait until I'm in San Diego in December though).

I'm hearing a rumor it ain't Orlando either though. Eh, if it's reasonably driveable, I'm going to try my best to go, and if it isn't I'm definitely out. I'm hearing not Orlando, but we'll see I guess.

Too much stuff going on for me in 2010 so the only way I would be able to attend is if this was back here in SoCal, which I doubt it would be. I wish I could make it but think that taking an Alaskan Cruise and attending my cousin's wedding is a better idea. Guess I will have to wait until Celebration 6.

If it is indeed Orlando, I am not surprised. Lucasfilm has been building on their relationship with Disney via Star Wars weekends, and there's an update on the way for Star Tours. If I go, I'll most likely spend the entire week in Orlando and hit at least 2 of the theme parks.

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